Rapid-response team planned as Waukesha Sheriff's Office gears up to aid ICE deportations

Demonstrators gather outside the Waukesha County Sheriff's Office at the courthouse on June 30 to protest the county's involvement in the federal 287g immigration control enforcement initiative. The Waukesha protest was part of a broader national protest on immigration issues tied to the Trump Administration.(Photo: Voces de la Frontera)

A local immigrant-rights group is creating a rapid-response team to assist families as the Waukesha County Sheriff's Office gears up to begin enforcing federal immigration laws.

Jail officers on Friday completed certification training to take part in a controversial program known as 287(g), in which local agencies agree to assist the Office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement by identifying what it calls "criminal aliens" in their jails and turning them over to ICE.

On Saturday, Voces de la Frontera will hold a "Family Defenders" training for families who could be affected by the program and individuals and organizations that want to support them.

"There is a political agenda behind this and it comes at a cost. Real lives are being affected by these policies," said Christine Neumann-Ortiz, executive director of Voces de la Frontera. "It's a very important time to stand together."

Waukesha County Sheriff Eric Severson announced the department had been approved for the program in April. Former Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clark Jr. applied for the same program last year but was rejected.

"I have a responsibility to enforce the law and protect our citizens," Severson wrote in a news release in April, "and I continue to have the best interest of the citizens of Waukesha County in mind."

Those who support 287(g) argue the program impacts only immigrants who have committed serious crimes. And the Sheriff's Office reiterated that point on Friday. Public Information Officer Jennifer Wallschlaeger said in a statement that the program affects only those individuals already in jail. She said the training was available only to correctional officers, not to patrol deputies.

Neumann-Oritz said the program is part of a broader crackdown on immigration that President Donald Trump has been focusing on throughout his presidency.

Critics note that individuals do not have to be charged with serious crimes to be booked into a county jail, and they say the program has increased incidents of racial profiling in other communities that have signed on.

"This inevitably leads to more discrimination, particularly against Latinos," said Neumann-Ortiz.

In that sense, the program paves the way for more families to be separated, Neumann-Oritz said, comparing the situation to the thousands of children separated from their families near the Mexican border and the national backlash the issue has received.